PREVIEW: Boys’ tennis

By JERRY SCOTT/Staff

Improving on last year’s 4-9 boys’ tennis record may come as a tall order for Andy Sarver’s 2008 Bland County Bears. With virtually no experience past the top two seeds, Bland County will be forced to rely on underclassmen to help pick up the slack left with the graduation of three 2007 seniors.
Gone are Josh May, Justin May, and Ricky Balas from last year’s squad. That trio combined to win only eight of 34 matches but the senior leadership they took with them would be invaluable with such as young 2008 team. Another player that had moderate success last year, Stephen Mustard, chose not to come out this season.
“We’re not a strong team for the simple fact that we have very little tennis experience,” second-year coach Sarver stated recently. “For most of these boys, it’s their first season playing tennis.”
Sarver does have a pair of seniors anchoring his team as Tyler Eastep and Brandon Bailey return from last year. Eastep was the top seed in 2007 and won six of his 14 overall singles matches. Bailey was seeded fourth most of last season and went 4-8 in singles competition. In doubles play, he and Mustard won seven of 11 matches at third seed.
“Those two are my seniors and have some playing experience,” Sarver said. “Hopefully they’ll be able to help the younger guys.”
Also returning is junior Alex Pruitt, who won just one match in nine tries in the third singles seed in 2007. He will likely hold that spot again this season.
Rounding out the roster is another holdover, sophomore Jonathon Romano, who didn’t see much, if any, action last year and sophomore Luke Gibson, and 8th graders Sid St. Clair, Sam Vaught, and Tyler Hodge.
“The future looks bright considering that we’ve got these younger guys out gaining experience this year,” Sarver noted. “With a roster of eight, they’ll likely see a lot of court time.”
The Bears have already got their season underway and have a schedule that consists of 16 matches. Along with MED competition, the Bears will try to hone their skills versus non-district opponents Giles, Tazewell, George Wythe, and Tazewell.
If the Bears are to have any success in the 2008 season, first and foremost they are going to have to get serious about playing the game. In today’s competitive age, success breeds competition but competition also breeds success.
“We will have to try our hardest and compete in every match to the best of our ability,” Sarver commented. “I’m sure it’ll be a fun year and it could be a fairly successful year. It’s also a building year which will help our younger guys get ready for next year.”
Sarver notes that once again Galax should be the favorite to win the MED. They lost in last year’s regional to Radford but return good players and should be right in the thick of postseason play again. Sarver would like to see his Bears someday get themselves in a similar position.
“Our team strategy is to go out there and have fun,” he said. “We’ve got to try hard, play hard, and get ourselves in position to compete.”
Here is the 2008 Bland County boys’ tennis schedule:
Date Opponent Place
Mar. 14 Giles Away
Mar. 18 Giles Home
Mar. 25 Tazewell Home
Mar. 26 Richlands Home
Mar. 31 George Wythe Home
April 3 Narrows Home
April 4 Tazewell Away
April 7 Grayson Co Away
April 8 Richlands Away
April 10 Galax Away
April 14 Fort Chiswell Home
April 15 George Wythe Away
April 28 Narrows Away
May 1 Grayson Co Home
May 5 Galax Home
May 8 Fort Chiswell Away
MATCH TIMES: 4:30 p.m.